Chiaroscuro
by Tr3kkieNovelist
Summary: An ex-convict is trying to get his life on the straight and narrow and a horseback rider is trying to run from a dark past. Maybe they can heal together. An AU Valki story.
1. Chapter 1

The café is busy. People bustling in and out with their cups of coffee to energize them for the morning rush. It is in this chaos that he finds tranquility; a reassuring peace amongst a crazy world.

At a table no bigger than a chess board, Loki quietly sits reading the morning paper; a steaming cup of rooibos before him. After glancing at the headline, he flips through the pages in search of something other than a story of 'What Odin Will Do Next with the Company after Rumors of his "Trouble Child" Being Arrested', or 'What the Handsome Bachelor of Odin Corp. Will Do Next'. Loki instead settled on an article about a heroic firefighter saving a classroom bunny during a fire. He is half-way through the article about to take a sip of his now cool tea when _it_ happens.

Of all the days that Loki has frequented the Cool Beans Café, he has always sat at the corner table next to the window. Unfortunately, he was running a bit late that morning and his usual table was currently occupied by some older gothic woman brooding over a cup of black coffee. So he was forced to sit in the only available space left in the cramped café - a table wedged between the door and the long line of impatient caffeine addicts.

It was one of those _very_ impatient caffeine addicts that catalyzed the series of events that took place next. A large man in line was getting antsy, restlessly tapping his foot. After tapping the hell out of the floor, the man then started to move around, he took a step back completely unaware of a woman passing behind him. She too was unaware, a coffee in her hand and a phone to her ear. The collision was imminent and the woman was caught off balance, shoved into Loki. He spilled drops of his tea on his all black ensemble as he was mid-sip and he cursed under his breath. The woman righted herself and they made brief eye contact.

It lasted no more than a second, but it felt like an eternity. Sun streamed in from the large front windows, illuminating wisps of her loose chocolate hair into a fiery brown and making his eyes a sparkling blue sea. As fast as it came, the moment went. The woman muttered a curt apology and whirled around her to growl at the man who pushed her before slipping out the door, disappearing into the crowd - just another typical New Yorker.

Loki returned to flipping through his newspaper when something much more interesting caught his eye - a wallet. On the floor near his foot was a maroon colored wallet with the number 142 etched into the corner. Loki - being his curious self, picked it up to discover that it belonged to the woman he just encountered. Suddenly, Loki found himself downing the last of his tea to run out of the joint and find that woman. She was there a minute ago and couldn't have gone far so he began walking in the direction he saw her leave. A block away is when he spotted her waiting at a crosswalk; he picked up his pace to catch up. The crowd began to disperse until only a few people were around, giving him a clear path to her. He tailed her for a few minutes until she hung up the phone and abruptly turned the corner. He looked behind him before following her around the corner.

Loki is instantly met with the sight of brick wall as his face is smushed into the side of a building and his left arm is bent behind his back.

A warm voice is suddenly next to his ear aggressively hissing, "Who are you? What do you want? Why are you following me?"

Loki manages a breathy chuckle as he replies, "Which question would you like me to answer first?"

The only response he receives is more pain and a burning sensation starting in his shoulder blade.

He grunts, "Fine . . . Fine . . . Have it your way. My name is Loki. You dropped your wallet at the coffee shop and I was simply returning it to you."

The woman immediately lets go, apologizing in a light English accent. He turns around to see the woman from the coffee shop - really see her. She is small in stature with caramel skin and long brown hair. She is wearing a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a worn leather jacket.

Loki reaches into his jacket pocket and he notices she tenses a bit until he presents her with her missing wallet.

The woman gives him a small smile, "I'm so sorry about that. Thank you so much for returning this to me. Let me make it up to you."

She opens her wallet and searches it.

Loki interrupts her search. "No, really it was my pleasure. it's not everyday you get pushed up against the wall by a beautiful woman. I don't need any money really, but thank you."

The woman stops and shoots him a confused expression. "I wasn't planning on giving you money. I was going to give you this," she says while holding out a business card.

"Oh," is the only thing he can say as a pregnant pause ensues.

"Though," she starts, "you might need some to go shopping for something other than black."

She shoves the card in his hand. "You have a free ride at Sakaar Stables whenever you wish. And once again I'm sorry about nearly beating you up when you were trying to be a Good Samaritan."

Loki looks down at the card. "Thank you . . ." he says as he looks up, but she is already gone.

He catches her getting into a cab across the street.

He smiles.

A/N: Hi. So I recently got into this ship and I would love to see more with them, but that will probably never happen now so they will just have to live on in fanfiction. I had this idea hit me after seeing a picture and I knew I had to get it down before it left me. I apologize for any mistakes; I tried my best to correct as many as I could find, but we are all imperfect. I would love to make this a multi-chapter fic, but I am going to label this as a one-shot because I seem to have a penchant for starting things and never finishing them (I'm so sorry!). Please review, I love to get feedback. So thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

Bored was an understatement. After being under house arrest for a year and a half, there was only so much painting, reading, and Netflix Loki could do. And it wasn't like he had any friends to call up; being out of the game for three years really messed you up. Once upon a time, Loki had friends, or at least acquaintences that tolerated him because of his skills in forgery and persuasion. However, he couldn't call them; he wouldn't call them. Loki was trying his best to not relapse into his old habits - a promise he made to his mother and himself.

Therefore, after waking up to walk his dog and clean his apartment, Loki stood in the middle of his living room at odds of what to do for the rest of his Friday.

At his feet his dog Runa attentively sat staring up at him. He heaved a sigh and she tilted her head before bolting to the couch he just fluffed up. She proceeded to jump and purposefully knock things off the end tables.

"No, Runa! Bad girl! Don't do that, I just cleaned that," chastised Loki as he ran to thwart her efforts in knocking a priceless vase his mother had gifted him.

Suddenly she stopped. Runa ran to her bed in the corner to gingerly plop herself down and watch her master clean up her mess. Loki shot her a knowing look before proceeding to do just that. He rearranged everything back into its place and as he was reaching for the last item - his wallet, he noticed something had slipped out. He picked it up to discover it to be a business card - the card of the intriguing woman he met a week ago. She did say I had a free lesson. Hmmm . . . what's the harm in taking her up on her offer just to bother her. It's not like he had anything better to do, thought Loki.

"Good girl, Runa! I shall be back by dinner, try not to knock anything else down while I'm gone," shouted Loki as he grabbed his jacket and promptly left, leaving Runa to enjoy the chew toy she found by her bed.

Loki caught a cab outside his apartment and 45 minutes later found himself standing infront of the place just outside the city. He walked in and was not greeted by the mean looking receptionist that sat glaring at her computer screen.

He walked up to the desk, "Hello, do you know where I can find Brunnhilde?"

The woman looked him up and down. "Who's asking?"

He smiled, "I'm . . . a friend of hers."

The woman looked at him skeptically. "That scrapper doesn't have any friends."

Loki's grin widened as he leaned closer to the woman whispering, "Well, let's just say I am an acquaintance whom she owes a debt."

It took a minute until she came around, but she picked up the phone nonetheless. "Name?"

"Loki," he replied as he took the time to take in the outworldly vibe the room was giving.

A short gruff conversation later, the woman told him to go find Brunnhilde in the stables. He headed towards the door she indicated led outside and as he stepped out side, he immediately sunk. Mud puddles were everywhere and he cursed. He instantly regretted wearing his Louboutin dress boots just because they matched his outfit. He attempted to shake the soggy earth off, but it was of no use so he trudged on in his search. He checked every stall until he came upon her brushing a dapple grey thoroughbred. She had her back to him showing no sign that she was aware of his prescense so he took the opportunity to lean against the stall doors with crossed arms.

Loki cleared his throat, "So this is what you do when you aren't beating people up in alleyways."

Brunnhilde made no move of surprise, only continuing to brush the horse. "Why are you here? What do you want, Lackey?"

Loki grinned, "Always with the multiple questions. It's Loki by the way, and I believe I was promised a free ride at this establishment."

Brunnhilde stopped then, turning around to see that irritating fool with a sly smirk that made her want to punch it right off his incredibly well-defined face.

"I'm busy, go ask Topaz for a rider that is available," turning back to what she was doing.

"I can't."

She stopped once again and faced him. "And why's that?"

"Because I was promised a free ride and given _your_ business card by _you_, thus implying that you would be my guide."

"What?! No, that's not what I meant! Ugh!" cried out Brunnhilde at his twisted logicical explanation.

She conceeded,"Fine, I'll do it. A deal is a deal, I'll honour it so you can leave and stop bothering me. But I have things I need to complete before we ride, assuming you know how to ride, Lackey."

Loki nodded nonchalantly, but on the inside he was screaming. The last time he rode any four legged creature was a pony named Cherry at his brother's ninth birthday party. Said pony was hell bent on kicking him off and had traumatized Loki ever since. Oh, why did he come here in the first place!

Brunnhilde threw him the brush. "Lackey meet Diaclese. Brush him gently in the direction of his coat. Horse's are sensitive like any other animal and it's uncomfortable when they are brushed in the opposite direction.

Loki made a noise of acknowledgment, surprisingly quiet as he focused intently at the task at hand while Brunnhilde went about refilling the feeding troughs.

They developped a rythmn, working around each other in a compainable silence.

Loki was the first to break the silence. "Is this all you do? Clean horses and teach children how to ride ponies?"

She scoffed, "I have to teach you don't I. For your information, I don't just clean horses and teach people, I also jockey."

"Really?" Loki put the brush back and went over to help her pick up a bales of hay.

They began slowing walking the bale towards the other end of the stable.

"What? Women can't jockey?" Brunnhilde questioned shooting him a loaded look.

"Now, my dear, I never said that. Women can be whatever they wish to be. I'm just surprised is all. I expected you to be some kind of ninja with the way you manhandled me during our last encounter. Or more likely you've been in the military, a special forces unit perhaps?" He raised his eyebrows.

Brunnhilde was quiet for a moment, dropping the bale a little more forcefully than necessary. "I just know how to handle myself around shady characters such as yourself."

Loki knew he hit a nerve, tucking that bit of information for later, he continued on," So you've done this before. Tell me, do you always make it habit to give your other 'shady characters' free rides, or am I just special?"

Brunnhilde broke into boisterous laughter, "You wish! And since you think you are so special, Lackey, you can clean the muck out of Diaclese's stall."

She gave him a mirthful smile, handing him a shovel and a bucket. He flashed a sarcastic one in return, bowing before taking the shovel. Loki frowned at it. He then looked at the pile poop in the corner of the stall. He was going to need a bigger shovel - and burn his beloved boots.

An hour had passed by the time they finished cleaning the stall and the horse. Fortunately, Brun gave Loki riding clothes and boots to replace his sodden clothes. He dressed in the changing rooms and met her at the enclosed training grounds.  
Brunnhilde watched him approach and couldn't help think how good he looked in those tight beige pants, knee high black boots, and that navy polo with the stable's name branded on the chest.

Loki met her inside the enclosure where she stood with Diaclese and a sorrel Arabian horse saddled up, ready to ride.

"You will be riding Flowers. She is . . ."

"Really? Flowers? Who names a horse Flowers?" He groused, but grabbed the reigns being offered nonetheless.

He looked nervously at the creature. "Well, get on. Don't be shy now."

Loki stood up straighter and attempted to hoist himself onto the horse as he had seen many times in movies, but it was much harder than it looked. Brun watched him struggle for a good five minutes, amusement tingeing her plump lips.

"You don't know how to ride, do you?"

He stepped down from the horse and looked at her guiltily. "Do you want the long or the short answer to that question?"

Brunnhilde put her hands on her hips. "I want the true answer."

"I may have not given you the whole truth. I've ridden before, but I was eight and it was a pony that tried to throw me off." He looked sheepishly at the ground, waiting for some snipy remark.

Instead she surprised him. He felt her grip his arm, lifting his head he found himself face to face with her. A gentle face he stared into as brown orbs captured his gaze.

"Thank you for telling me. I know it was long ago when you were a child, but it was a traumatic experience and we need to take steps to help you get over that. If you don't want to do this, we don't have to."

Loki was in utter consternation over this woman. How could she be hard as nails sassy, and yet be tender and loving? She was an enigma that beckoned him to solve.

He smiled reassuringly, "I want to do this, but I am going to need help."

She smiled a genuine smile in return. Grabbing his wrist, Brun led him near Flowers' head so she could see then coming and be alarmed. She guided his hand to Flowers' snout, "Before you even ride, you must trust the horse you are going to be riding. It's a trust that goes both ways; you need to trust her, not showing fear because that will agitate her, and she must trust you in that you will properly guide her.

Loki looked at the at his hand and then directly in Flowers' eye. The horse gave a huff, causing Loki to jerk his hand away.

"It's alright. Try it again," Brun gently reassured as she watched Loki.

He cautiously brought his hand back to Flowers and smiled over at Brun.

"See, she likes you," Brun beamed, "Now, you are ready to get on."

Upon teaching Loki basic commands in the enclosure, and when he was comfortable enough to ride on his own, they were finally able to go on one of the trails. They rode the horses in compainable silence until they reached a clearing and stopped to let the horses rest.

Brunnhilde took the time to learn more about the mysterious man next to her.

"You know what I do, but what do you do?"

Loki thought for a moment, "I'm actually between jobs right now."

"What were you doing before?"

"I was in . . . a form of administration. Suffice it to say when I'm left to my own devices I get into trouble. Now I don't know what I am going to do. I don't know how to move on, it is all I have ever known."

"I understand what you are dealing with, from experience I can tell you it is not going to be easy. But when you do move past it and find your place, it won't be so much of a challenge."

"Thanks for the words of wisdom." And Loki meant it. He may not know her situation, yet he could feel that they shared a deep connection.

"But how would you understand when you go around beating people up for no good reason? Answer me that!" Loki exclaimed.

Brunnhilde shook her head, "You are so hung up over the fact that I beat you up, and not even that. What? You want a rematch?"

"Yes, it was definitely an unfair fight!" Loki defended.

They rode the rest of the trail laughing over Loki's "pony" experience and talking about the beautiful landscape until evening approached. Now they stood side by side watching the horses graze in the pen as Loki awaited his cab.

"I had a good time with you. Today was my day off and honestly I was bored, but then you showed up and my day brightened."

A Cheshire grin inched its way on Loki's face. "I didn't know you felt that way about me; maybe I am special afterall."

Brun laughed, "Don't let it go to your head. You're still irritating."

"I feel like I should be offended, but I'm not in the slightest. If we are being honest here, I was bored at home as well and I'm glad I came here to see you. Thank you for an enjoyable day."

They stared at each other until Brun broke the silence, "Give me your phone."

He did as he was commanded. "This is my number, let me know when you are free to spar."

"Great! Finally, a fair fight."

Loki's cab arrived and he turned around and bid farewell. "Good night, Brunnhilde."

"Good night, Loki."

When his cab was out of sight, Brun walked to her car ready to go to a bar, get drunk, and contemplate her tumultuous feelings surrounding this perplexing man that seemingly inserted himself into her life.

* * *

A/N: Hi, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it is longer than usual and a lot happened, but this writing kick is really mystifying. Nonetheless, I am going to take the opportunity and attempt to complete something for once in my life. I once again apologize for any errors. I welcome feedback so please R&R!

(Also, I tried to put double spaces between different scenes, but it doesn't seem to save. Sorry for one big long blob of story.)


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